Qubax
Registered User
Okay listen, I'll admit I'm a Flames fan. But I'm not here to create a disturbance. I just have a few questions and/or observations for Oilers fans.
It's relatively standard practice that you build teams with three main strengths:
Goaltending
Defence
Strength down the middle
Take a team like Pittsburgh it's not like Kunitz and Dupuis are great wingers, but when Jordan Staal and now Brandon Sutter are your 3rd Centremen behind Sid and Geno your in a great place.
Now that's not to say that I disagree with any of the first overall picks, nor the Nurse pick to be honest. You've gotta take the best player available.
But since it's obvious that Dubnyk has a lot to prove, and the D doesn't seem there (could change with Klefbom, Nurse, Marincin etc.,. eventually joining the fold) and 3 of the big 4 forwards are wingers...Will the Oilers management make any major attempts to aquire a couple of good centremen and D?
To me if the Oil had the D and the Centers that chances are Dubnyk would be totally satisfactory.
It's kind of odd that although Horcoff was seen as an overpaid lepper he's the type of player the Oilers need. They don't necessarily need a Thornton, Lecavalier, but boy would they kill for 2 of Chris Kelly, Tyler Bozak, Daymond Langkow, Gaustad, Fisher
Just like Sid makes Kunitz into an Olympic Candidate I think that Eberle, Yakupov and Hall could make Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly into important cogs on a winning team.
Look at Conroy with Iginla, or Langkow with Iginla. Reasonably proficient two way, strong centers who can play the position and win a faceoff are maybe the biggest thing the Oilers need.
In this vain I never understood not keeping Belanger, when you just replaced him with Gordon. And not that Gordon is the problem.
But I think the Oilers are a Dan Hamhuis type vanilla Top 2-4 D and a couple of Mike Fisher like Centers away from being a Cup contender.
I know that seems bold. But I really believe such seemingly minor, but critical changes, could take the Oilers from being a bottom 3rd team to a Top 5 NHL team.
RNH
Fisher/Gagner
Kelly/Gagner
Gordon
Gagner plays RW much of the time on one of these lines and can take some faceoffs when you want a right handed guy or Fisher or Kelly gets tossed.
Then you sprinkle in your stud wingers Hall, Eberle, Yakupov, Perron, Hemsky throughout the top 9.
What do you Oilers fans think?
It's relatively standard practice that you build teams with three main strengths:
Goaltending
Defence
Strength down the middle
Take a team like Pittsburgh it's not like Kunitz and Dupuis are great wingers, but when Jordan Staal and now Brandon Sutter are your 3rd Centremen behind Sid and Geno your in a great place.
Now that's not to say that I disagree with any of the first overall picks, nor the Nurse pick to be honest. You've gotta take the best player available.
But since it's obvious that Dubnyk has a lot to prove, and the D doesn't seem there (could change with Klefbom, Nurse, Marincin etc.,. eventually joining the fold) and 3 of the big 4 forwards are wingers...Will the Oilers management make any major attempts to aquire a couple of good centremen and D?
To me if the Oil had the D and the Centers that chances are Dubnyk would be totally satisfactory.
It's kind of odd that although Horcoff was seen as an overpaid lepper he's the type of player the Oilers need. They don't necessarily need a Thornton, Lecavalier, but boy would they kill for 2 of Chris Kelly, Tyler Bozak, Daymond Langkow, Gaustad, Fisher
Just like Sid makes Kunitz into an Olympic Candidate I think that Eberle, Yakupov and Hall could make Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly into important cogs on a winning team.
Look at Conroy with Iginla, or Langkow with Iginla. Reasonably proficient two way, strong centers who can play the position and win a faceoff are maybe the biggest thing the Oilers need.
In this vain I never understood not keeping Belanger, when you just replaced him with Gordon. And not that Gordon is the problem.
But I think the Oilers are a Dan Hamhuis type vanilla Top 2-4 D and a couple of Mike Fisher like Centers away from being a Cup contender.
I know that seems bold. But I really believe such seemingly minor, but critical changes, could take the Oilers from being a bottom 3rd team to a Top 5 NHL team.
RNH
Fisher/Gagner
Kelly/Gagner
Gordon
Gagner plays RW much of the time on one of these lines and can take some faceoffs when you want a right handed guy or Fisher or Kelly gets tossed.
Then you sprinkle in your stud wingers Hall, Eberle, Yakupov, Perron, Hemsky throughout the top 9.
What do you Oilers fans think?